This question and its answers list the names of bike parts and cycling concepts.

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Also, I made this a community wiki, so that anyone will be able to edit it, and to stop rep-hoarding

There's a handy reference at the Park Tool Co. website, a bike repair map; it's a diagram of a bike with all the parts labeled, and is very handy! At the moment, the diagram is up at parktool.com/blog/repair-help. (They've changed the URL in the past, so this link may break.)

Edit: This page is meant to identify what things or concepts are (as per this thread in meta). If you want to recommend an accessory or a specific product you've found handy, please use the accessories page.

56 Answers
56

Frame

The frame is the skeleton of a bicycle. It's the part that all other parts are attached to. (Some parts, like the front wheel, are attached to other parts that are in turn attached to the frame.) The fork is sometimes considered a part of the frame, even though it's attached to the frame mechanically.

Frames are commonly made of steel, aluminum, carbon fiber, and sometimes more exotic materials such as titanium, wood, or bamboo.

Hub

One of the central parts of a conventional bicycle wheel. A hub is essentially a flanged metal tube (somewhat similar in shape to a spool of thread). The hub links the rim, axle, and (in the case of rear hubs) drivetrain of a bicycle:

Rim

Holes are drilled in the flanges of the hub so that the spokes may be threaded through the hub, which holds the "heads" of the spokes. The spoke nipples in the rim hold the other ends of the spokes. This is how the hub is connected to the rim.

Axle

The hub also has a lateral hole through which the axle is inserted. When the wheel is moving, the axle does not rotate, but the hub, spokes, and rim do. The axle does not contact the hub directly; the two components have a set of cups/cones, bearings, and locknuts holding them together, similar to headsets and head tubes. This is how the hub (and thus the rest of the wheel) is connected to (but rotates freely around) the axle.

Drivetrain

In order to provide a means by which the chain can rotate the wheel, rear hubs can have at least one cog attached. (Front hubs do not have any drivetrain components.) There several different types of rear hubs which accept various drivetrain systems:

Groupset

A groupset or gruppo (from the Italian for "group") generally refers to all of the components that make up a bicycle excluding the bicycle frame, forks, stem, wheels, tires, and rider contact points, such as the saddle and handlebars.

Headset

The group of bearings and bearing cups that allows the steer tube to turn freely within the head tube. Headsets come in two basic varieties.

Threaded headsets are common on older bikes and inexpensive bikes. They are called "threaded" headsets because the top race is held on with a threaded race and locknut.

Threadless headsets are standard on modern mid-level and high-end bicycles. They are called "threadless" headsets because there are no threads on the race nor is there a lock ring. The headset is held together by pressure created by a bolt through the top cap which threads into a star nut inside the steer tube.

Bottom Bracket

The bottom bracket shell is the part of the frame holding the bottom bracket.

Generally, bottom brackets are made for a specific size of bottom bracket shell and a specific crank attachment.

Traditional bottom brackets are a piece that goes inside the shell and has the ends of a spindle/axle coming out on each end (which the crankset attaches to), or possibly the cranks somehow attach into it.

There are also external bottom brackets where the bearings are outside the bottom bracket shell, and the cranks have a spindle that runs through to the other side.
Typically the bottom bracket in this case is a hollow cylinder with a bearing assembly permanently attached on one side and a way to attach the bearing assembly on the other (once inserted through the shell).

Most recently, there are various new-style ("press-fit", etc) bottom brackets, that are designed like an external bottom bracket, but rely on having a larger bottom bracket shell and fit inside the shell. They still have the axle/spindle as part of the cranks.

Also note that there are eccentric bottom brackets, which are really a bottom bracket that goes inside of an offset bottom bracket shell that fits inside the frame's bottom bracket shell. This allows the bottom bracket to be moved a bit, to tension the chain on a single-speed or fixed-gear bike.

Rim

The circular, U-shaped (in cross-section) part of a bicycle wheel that the tire and spokes are is attached to. Wheel-building is the process of attaching a hub to a rim with spokes; the name has connotations of smaller runs of wheels that are not machine-built, and are of presumably higher quality.

Brifter

Internally-Geared Hub

A setup where, instead of the cogs and derailleur mechanisms are on the outside of the wheel, they're sealed in the rear wheel's hub. As the gears are sealed away from water and road salt, internally-Geared hubs require much less in the way of cleaning than traditional drive-trains. These hubs are popular with commuters or other utility cyclists that will be ride in the snow and rain. They are also popular on folding bikes, as they are suited for bikes taken on crowded trains. When coupled with a single front chainring, IGH drivetrains permit the installation of a full chain guard, which most external gear systems don't allow.

Master Link

AKA: Breakable Link, Powerlink™

A link inserted onto a chain so that the chain can be broken and re-assembled without a chain tool. A set of pliers or a flathead screwdriver is usually sufficient to disassemble a chain with a master link.

Lawyer Lips/ Lawyer Tabs

Bicycle forks with quick-release wheel mechanisms are often equipped with these. The intent is to make it less likely that the wheel will accidentally release if the quick-release lever is used improperly.

I see how the clamp goes around the torch, but how does it attach to the bars? Is there a second clamp, or does it twist around?
–
HugoJun 20 '11 at 8:59

4

Hose clamps can cut into paint an even metal if they're tight enough. You can stick a strip of old inner tube under the clamp to prevent this (and to provide better grip).
–
naught101May 12 '12 at 3:03

Spoke

The spokes connect the hub of a wheel to its rim. Spoke count is the number of spokes in a wheel, and a higher spoke count usually means a stronger wheel that can handle more weight and abuse.

Spoke tension (the force with which the spokes are tightened) can be adjusted individually. This is part of the process of truing a wheel, ensuring that tension is equally distributed in the wheel and that the rim is true, or straight. This is particularly important with bikes that have tight tolerances, but wheels that are trued are a benefit to any bike.

Mixte

A mixte is a step-through (low top tube or "ladies") frame with 3 sets of stays instead of the usual two. The middle set of stays usually runs all the way to the head tube replacing the top tube, but on some mixte frames, the top tube is still a normal single tube. The traditional mixte has those axle-to-head stays straight, but there are also designs where they're bent to give an even lower standover height. They still retain the usual chain stays and seat stays. This design keeps the frame strong and doesn't require a longer seat post.

I believe the word itself comes from French and means "mixed" as in "mix of women's and men's styles" or maybe even "unisex".

Cage/Bottle Cage/Bottle Holder

This is a mechanism to hold water bottles on a bike frame. They can be made of steel, aluminum or carbon. Most attach to the frame via preinstalled threaded holes, although on older frames an attachment that wraps around the entire tube was needed as an adapter. A couple examples of cages are shown:

For time trials and triathlons, there are also cage adapters that attach to the seat and provide mounting points for extra water bottle cages and spare tubes/inflators, and a few new mounts place a water bottle between the extension of an aerobar set.

Mountain Bike

Mountain bikes commonly come with only front suspension (hard tail), front and rear suspension (full suspension) or no suspension (rigid; also may be referred to as a hard tail). A rare configuration is the soft tail where only rear suspension is present.

Thicker frame tubing and flat handlebars are common features of mountain bikes.

Chain guard/Chain cover

It's a frame, usually made of plastic or metal, that covers the entire length of the chain or only the upper part, mainly for protecting the rider from the dirt and lubricant on the chain, but can also protect the chain itself.

Tyre Saver

Small loop of wire attached so that it rubs continuously on the tyre as it rotates. This brushes off debris and reduces the number of punctures. These were popular mainly in the 1970's and 1980's, with the advent of lightweight puncture-resistant tyres they have almost disappeared.

The stack height of a headset is the vertical space taken up by a headset, and the stem when using a threadless headset. It's the difference between the headtube length and the fork steerer length needed to be able to use that headset with that fork and headtube.

When a brake or gear lever is moved it pulls on the attached gear or brake cable (for cable operated systems, at least). Since it's a lever, there are two related movements to consider. Cable Pull is how far the cable moves over the full travel of the lever. For brakes, there are two standards, short or conventional pull and long or V brake pull. For gears, there are a multitude of incompatible indexed gear options and few are compatible with each other.

In the context of bicycles dropouts are a kind of fork end, where the wheels are attached. Dropouts are employed on most bikes; on some mountain bikes the axles pass through holes at the end of the forks.

We often use dropout for any slot to hold the axle at the end of forks, but strictly speaking, a dropout is a fork end where the wheel can be removed from the frame without taking the chain off first. It's called a dropout because after loosening the quick release or nuts the wheel will drop out when the bike is lifted off the ground. It is much quicker and easier to remove wheels with the bike the right way up than when the bike is upside down.

The image below shows a Colnago horizontal dropout in a Surly frame; a typical example. It has adjustment screws and an integral derailleur hanger.

Front dropouts are vertical, and some rear dropouts are also vertical.

This image from Wikipedia shows a fork end that is not a dropout. The wheel cannot be removed without removing the chain.